The airport in Rostock-Laage started life as a military airfield, but since 1993 has become the largest airport for passenger transport in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in northern Germany and an important regional hub for air-freight.

With its strategic location in northern Germany, 1 million passengers per annum capacity, Rostock Airport serves both tourists and business travellers visiting the Mecklenburgs-Vorpommern Baltic Sea recreational area.

The airport handled over 250,000 passengers on more than 14,300 flights in 2016.

In addition to its passenger services Rostock Airport is also an important regional hub for cargo distribution.

The airport has a permit to operate 24 which allows cargo and transport aircraft, up to a Boeing 747, to take off and land around the clock in any weather.

July 2017 proved to be a record month with 54,533 passengers flying from the airport.

To ensure their operations critical radio communications system could cope with further growth and expansion, Flughafen GmbH the airport operator, recently replaced its analogue radio system used in passenger management and aircraft control on the apron, with a state-of-the-art Kenwood DMR digital system.

Two talk groups for passenger and aircraft management

According to Bernd Lepschinski, the person responsible for IT and Systems at the airport, the system and TK-D340 portable DMR radios are configured to provide two talk groups under normal operating conditions.

The first talk group is allocated to Airport Services including check-in, boarding and all aspects of passenger management; while the second is for Ground Handling Services including refuelling, fresh water supplies, aircraft cleaning and catering – everything required for an efficient turnaround.

Eight of the mobile radios are configured so that either of the two talk groups can be monitored. This allows appropriate users to listen to the two main talk groups and participate as required. “During normal operation, the two talk groups are coordinated by a dispatcher equipped with a base station” explains Mr. Lepschinski.

Regional dealers provide the know-how across the country JVCKENWOOD Deutschland GmbH, is based in the Rhein-Main area close to Frankfurt where it maintains a close working relationship with its network of resellers and expert partners that serve end-users and customers throughout Germany.

Frank Seibert, Managing Director of Mobilfunkcenter Rostock, was the regional partner for JVCKENWOOD on this important project. Mr. Seibert designed and commissioned the radio system using Kenwood DMR equipment and devices.

In addition to detailing the technical specifications, installation and commissioning of the system, Mobilfunkcenter Rostock also advised the customer’s team on how to deploy and reprogram the DMR radios to ensure 24/7 system availability.

The TDMA method allows both talk groups to be operated on a single 12.5 kHz channel. Among the other benefits, the new Kenwood DMR system at the airport has also significantly increased coverage when compared to the analogue system.

Kenwood durability and sound quality Optimised for Data

The harsh operating environment of an airport can pose real challenges to equipment in use led to a requirement for the radio devices to be rugged, reliable and able to withstand all weather scenarios. The Kenwood TK-D340 hand-portable radios used in this project meet with MIL-STD C/D/E/F and G standard and are IP54/55 rated against dust and water ingress.

“Given the ambient noise levels in the terminal building and on the apron, the audio quality of the radios really is excellent; a virtue of Kenwood DMR noise cancelling technology that is greatly appreciated and valued by the customer“ explains Mr Seibert, adding: “The system is also easily scalable in terms of number of radio subscribers and additional functionality”.